


Slow Dancing in a Burning Room

by Ze_Momonster



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, M/M, Multi, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-09-12
Updated: 2012-10-06
Packaged: 2017-11-14 02:12:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/510222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ze_Momonster/pseuds/Ze_Momonster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He thought he’d been given the best gift in the world. A chance at love; a proper opportunity at what he’d lost; to give just as much as he was given. Love and life. Time. But it was a lie, a pretty lie that took over a decade to unravel, but unravel it did. Now The Duplicate Doctor, The Meta-Crisis Human/Time Lord was keeping his solemn vow. He’d promised to protect her. Even if it was from herself. </p><p>“-to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse,<br/>for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Twenty Years in a Day

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Happy Birthday Evy](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Happy+Birthday+Evy).



> Prologue Chapter 00  
> The Duplicate Doctor's journey from the TARDIS to Bad Wolf Bay; then back to Bad Wolf Bay, and back on the TARDIS; twenty years of walking.  
> If only it was a truly happy occasion.

The Doctor and he both called himself the Meta-Crisis. For now at least. What else could he be called? Doctor? How could they properly function with two Doctors in the same room; how would they know who was speaking to who?

It wasn't a conscious action – the few moments after his creation the Meta-Crisis understood himself and where he stood in the world. He could be anything he wanted now…just not the Doctor.

Not for this universe at least.

So as he stood on the beaches of Bad Wolf Bay, he decided to take the one thing he'd wanted for over ten years, Rose Tyler's love.

What the Doctor couldn't say, the Time Lord too broken; his human self could.

_I love you._

_**You keep her safe.**_ The Doctor ordered, speaking through the bond glowing golden at the back of their minds. The doors to the TARDIS shut.

 _On my life._ He promised back, letting Rose break away when the yawning of the TARDIS sang through the air.

Silently he stood as he watched the TARDIS fly away, and together they stood on Bad Wolf Bay.

The beginning of their lives together.

"I almost can't believe this is happening." Rose confessed softly.

"You have all the time in the world to come to terms with this, with us." He promised softly.

Jackie was in the background phoning Pete to come and get them when he felt it. A slight burning along his spine. But Rose was talking again, and he thought nothing of it…

Until he felt the TARDIS leave their new world.

It hit him then; a burst of crippling pain that started at the base of his spine until his head was pounding in tempo with his single heart; the agony enough to drop him to his knees. He's unconscious by the time Pete picks them up, lost to the world for days. A coma, they'd told him.

But while his body was down for the count…his mind had traveled elsewhere.

Suddenly he can see her.

Donna. In pain, brain malfunctioning right before his eyes.

Not his eyes though. _His_. The Doctor's.

They were sharing each other's thoughts, feeling each other's pain as Donna stood there, not even able to speak.

Neural Implosion. They knew how that felt.

"Brilliant, Fantastic, Molto Bene, Great big universe, packed into my brain. You know you can fix that chameleon circuit if you just try hotwiring the fragment links and superseding the binary _binary binary binary binary binary binary binary binary binary binary binary binary binary binary_ \- " Finally she cut off the words with a gasp, gazing down at the TARDIS for a second before her mouth started running again. "... I'm fine!"

We only watched her as she slowly got worse.

 _I'm sorry._ The Meta-Crisis whispered.

"Nah! Never mind Feldspoon. You know who I'd like to meet? Charlie Chaplin. I bet he's great, Charlie Chaplin. Shall we do that, shall we go see Charlie Chaplin?"

 _ **This isn't your fault.**_ The Doctor replied sadly. _**Not yours, not hers. Your birth saved the Universe…**_

 _-but there's always a price, huh?_ He cut in bitterly, watching Donna as she got stuck on yet again.

"Shall we, Charlie Chaplin? Charlie Chester, Charlie Brown, no he's fiction," They watched as she slowly lowered the phone in her hand, still talking…not breathing. "-friction, fiction, fixing, mixing, Rickston, Brixton."

The words cut off and she sucked in another breath of air, stumbling into the console. They stood silently as she slowly pressed a hand to her head, breathing out softly. "Oh, my God!"

The Doctor took a slow measured step towards the shaking woman, hands in his pockets. "D'you know what's happening?" he asked gently.

Donna glanced up at him, frowning. "Yeah."

"There's never been a human/Time Lord Meta-Crisis before now." He said slowly. "And you know why."

He knew what he had to do to save her.

He just had to lose his best friend.

He stood silently beside her, resolute.

The Meta-Crisis was crying inside enough for both of them.

Her voice was soft, sad, but still unwilling to admit to the truth even as she answered him. "Because there can't be."

Looking into his eyes, Donna started to shake her head before turning away. _"I want to stay."_

The Doctor thought he'd gotten used to heartbreak by now, but every single time it still hurt.

Instead of letting his knees grow weak against the onslaught of emotion, the Meta-Crisis instead pulled all their pain in close, letting the Doctor remain steady when he slowly followed her as she walked around the console. "Look at me." She flicked another switch, and the Doctor couldn't help the emotion that crept into his voice then, leaning down onto the console. "Donna. _Look at me."_

Slowly, tears falling already, she did as asked. His voice caught in his throat staring up at her.

"I was gonna be with you." She stated softly. " _Forever_."

"I know."

"Rest of my life." She continued. "Travelling. In the TARDIS. _The DoctorDonna."_

The Meta-Crisis pulled back then, pulling with him all the emotions that had clogged his throat, all the pain and anger and rage and hate and sealed it tight; leaving the Doctor's face a soft frown as he listened to Donna as her Human/Time Lord mind finally caught onto what was going to happen next.

"No! Oh my god... I can't go back. Don't make me go back." She backed a step, but the Doctor followed her, standing tall to press his hands against her shoulders. "Doctor, please, please don't make me go back!" her hands latched onto his forearms, eyes searching for that spark the Doctor always had when he broke the rules and got away with it.

Nothing but sadness.

"Donna." He breathed softly. "Oh, Donna Noble. I am so sorry. But we had the best of times. The best."

Still shaking her head, Donna pressed her hands over his as he put his fingertips to her temple.

"Give it to him." The Doctor blinked. Tears pouring from her eyes, Donna elaborated. "If I am having complications, then so might he. If I can't have it, give it to him."

"Of course." He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead. "Goodbye, Donna Noble."

Donna closed her eyes.

Donna forgot.

Donna slept.

And with tears falling from his own eyes the Doctor lifted a hand, releasing his Meta-Crisis from his mind and gave him the last gifts Donna had to give, as well as a few of his own.

When he wakes up he's suddenly got a Scottish accent, and his hair is longer. It'd been three days he was asleep and his hair is suddenly three inches longer. He liked it though, let it grow.

He's at his new home with the Tyler's by the time he wakes. They were already in the process of making a life for him. A human life.

Gave him a name, an identity, an age. He can't be over nine hundred anymore, holding the memory of all his years or nope.

He picks the name Jean Paul, in the memory of the Madame De Pompadour; the one companion he was too late for.

For a long while they assume he'll take the Surname Smith; but after careful though he doesn't.

He becomes a Noble instead. After explaining his creation, no one questions the choice.

There was one other thing that was noticeable to those who paid attention. His eyes had changed.

It's the only physical change they can see; dark chocolate brown eyes gaining an odd ring of gold and green close to the iris. He jokingly complains that he would have preferred to keep plain old brown if it meant not having to go through _that_ again – but he knows why it happened. He knows why he had to hurt; why he suddenly gained a little more of Donna, lost just that little bit of the Doctor. No one else could really see the red in his hair.

He had known – just like the Doctor knew – that Donna couldn't keep that knowledge. Centuries upon centuries of information; millions and billions of the truth – the creation and destruction of planets the location and exact make of entire galaxies; all that was, had been, and would be. Then all of that on top of his own memories…Couldn't keep it and live. He felt her pain when she realized her time with the Doctor was up; felt his pain when the Doctor took away the one thing Donna cherished most – her memories of their travels together.

Scott never told anyone about what's changed inside. He had been created – born – with a single heart, born with a human's body, but a Time Lord's mind. He'd gotten the better deal between he and Donna when it came to his creation – at least he was allowed to remember. But it looked like Donna – like his mother – had left him with one last gift…because he could feel it. Deep in his chest; so small and insignificant at first, a small lump resting behind his right lung.

A second heart.

One last gift from Donna.

All that was alien inside her – the remaining Huon particles in her blood, and the Regeneration Energy still in her mind – was his now, a gift from Donna powered by the Doctor's link to his mind. Scott knew then - with that last gift the Doctor had given him - that they both had given him a choice.

Thinking back on his life, birth, creation…abandonment…he couldn't help but smile at their memory. Even though they hadn't really meant to do it, they were both good parents. All in all, they'd given him everything he could have ever asked for.

Stay with Rose, stunt the growth of the second heart, be human.

Or let the heart grow, nurture the small TARDIS Coral the Doctor had given him, embrace the Time Lord part of his DNA, and explore the new universe.

He could accept life either way. It'd hurt to let either part of himself go…but he could.

It honestly all depended on Rose.

It had at least.

She had tried; he gave her that.

Ten years they'd lived together, laughed, loved. Gotten married after two years of dating. Rose and Jean-Paul Tyler-Noble. Jackie took to teasing him about his new found accent; teasing him with the name Scotty for weeks…until it stuck.

Rose took up working for Torchwood while he became a freelance agent for both Torchwood and UNIT, gaining his Doctorate in Medicine as well as Archeology and Engineering on the side.

In River's Memory.

They had a son; James Noble, a normal human boy, chocolate brown eyes and strawberry blond hair. No one realized that Scott had also inherited Donna's red hair until their son came out with it. No one carried that the Doctor's mother was a red head. It had taken a few months for anyone to believe them – several people thought Rose had cheated, until Scott set their minds straight – and pulled out a few hairs. A daughter came two years after that, little Reinette Jacqueline Noble, brown eyes with dark red hair. She looked so much like Donna it hurt, in a bittersweet way.

It was the seventh year into their marriage, their son only six; their daughter three; nine years they'd been together; when after an accident left Scott bedridden, a single X-Ray began to unravel their bliss.

"We don't exactly understand it Mrs. Noble, but he seems to have an odd growth in his chest; behind his right lung. It doesn't seem to be effect him in anyway, but it would be best if we at the very least got a tissue sample to make sure it's not cancer."

Scott felt himself awaken with a sharp gasp, pain pulling a low moan from his throat. It was eerily reminiscent of Jack's awakening whenever he went and got himself killed.

 _Ah, so this is what it felt like to be hit by a bus._ He chuckled softly, turning his head when Rose and the doctor standing by the door turned around to look at him. "Scott!"

He smiled a bit, slightly loopy from the pain medication and the pain still itching down his nerves. "Hello sweet."

Rose shakily ran a hand through his hair – nearly reaching his shoulders now – and turned back to the doctor hovering by the door. "Can you tell him what you told me?"

The doctor frowned at her, but nodded with a sigh. "Doctor Noble, I'm Doctor Tomas Jameson. You're injuries from the accident are simple, your left arm has a slight fracture in the _radius_ ; because of your age we surgically inserted a metallic rod to make sure the bone healed properly, and your left leg was broken as well, the _fibula_. Both will take several months in a cast to heal. But while doing a routine X-Ray to make sure nothing else was missed, we noticed an odd lump behind your right lung. Have you experienced any symptoms as of late? Chest pain, slightness of breath, maybe even dizziness or headaches?"

Scott eyed the doctor with his tricolored eyes for several moments before slowly shaking his head. "Nothing major doctor, just some headaches at times."

And there was his habit of lying in play; ever since his birth he'd had debilitating headaches – he knew it was the human side of his body trying to reject his knowledge. It never would happen unless he gave into his human DNA completely. Then his memories would start to fade…nine hundred years of life would vanish from his mind.

He would never let that happen.

Though he wondered if the good doctor noticed that his lungs were a bit smaller than a normal human as well? That was the advanced respiratory system of his Time Lord genetics in play, trying to make his human lungs more like the series of pulmonary tubes the Gallifreyan race were born with. It left him with a larger lung capacity than a human, but nowhere near what he was used too.

"And maybe I get a few aches here and there, but who doesn't?"

His link with the Doctor was still alive and strong, even on the other side of the Void. Every time the Doctor as injured, he felt it. He was lucky enough that Time Lords were a resilient breed, and that when the man had been injured he healed quickly enough.

The man looked at him for a few moments before nodding to himself. "Well, you've woken up now so there should be no problems from this point forward. We'll take another look at your X-rays to see if we can gleam anything from them. If everything goes according to plan, you should be out of that bed by this time next week, Doctor Noble."

Scott smiled at him with a nod. "Thank you."

It wasn't even seconds after Jameson had left the room before Rose turned back to him, eyes dark with worry. "What happened?" she demanded. "Darrel said you and he were just chatting while walking across the street when suddenly you seized up, stood there like a bloody statue!" Scott sighed, lifting his right arm to scratch at the back of his head. "You're lucky you got away with only two broke bones you know, you got hit by a bus!"

"Not lucky, my bones are just a bit more sturdy than everyone else. That bit of human in me is what gave certain bones points of weakness; if I had been hit on my right I'd have a broken hip and my upper arm would have broke in about three places." He realized a few moments after the words had already left his mouth that he really shouldn't have said that.

Rose shot him a look and Scott shut up. "Scott… _Doctor_. What. Happened."

Scott sighed, letting his head fall back on the pillows. He really hated it when she called him Doctor. "Exactly that Rose. _The_ Doctor. He was hurt, _badly_ ; physical and emotional pain hit me like a freight train."

"But he should be fine. He's been fine for the past ten years, why would you feel something now?"

Scott sat himself up, leaning on his side to gently run his hand down the side of Rose's face. "Remember where we are love. We're in another Universe _across the Void_ ; and he's a time traveler. I could be feeling an injury he gained before I was even born…or even before he knew you. This situation between he and I is completely unique; it's never happened before – ever. The fact that I can even feel him across the Void is _remarkable_." Scott grinned, and Rose couldn't help but smile back, idly pushing a lock of his wild hair behind one ear.

"So. Really, we don't have a clue what will happen next, eh?" she mused.

"Not a one. And isn't that just wizard?" Scott laughed. "It's been so long since something's happened that I don't even the smallest _inclination_ about what would happen next." Scott pressed his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. "One of the last big shocks I had – nearly stopped one heart! – was when you came back for me on Satellite 5; when you _flew the TARDIS_ and walked towards me, glowing with the light of the Time Vortex." He opened his eyes wide; letting her look right into those gold, green, and brown orbs. "Did I ever tell you how beautiful you looked then?"

Rose giggled, kissing him softly, but it was an uncoordinated mess and she broke it off with a full belly laugh, watching as Scott fell back into his bed. "Yea, still high of those meds." Scott complained, turning to squint at the bags of liquid slowly dripping into his veins. "And what did he mean _because of my age?_ I'm only 37 years old; does that suddenly mean I'm _old_ now?"

They'd decided while making the paperwork for his name and birth date that he was born in 1981. Even if the Doctor was un-aging he did look to be in his late twenties; Jackie picked 28 for his age then slapped the number onto Scott, making him five years older than Rose.

Rose laughed at him, and Scott frowned a bit. "Good thing I know this body can accept human medicine now...well I think I'm sure, something probably would have happened by now if I couldn't handle it; well…who knows with me really, it's really all up in the air when it comes to these medicines…" He mused, blinking once. "Though I wish they'd give me more of whatever they've got that's keeping the pain low, it's not really doing a good job, though now that I think about it I'm starting to feel kinda woozy…" he paused, blinking. "This is _Fentanyl;_ they've got _Fentanyl_ in me? Well isn't that just _fantastic."_ He rolled his eyes, turning away from the bag of fluid slowly dripping into his veins and frowned. "Though I'm still staying away from Aspirin…is something wrong?"

Rose stared down at him for several long moments before pressing a hand to his chest. Right over the still heart.

"You had to have known." She murmured, clenching her fist. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Nothing's wrong." He murmured soothingly, placing his hand over hers on his chest. "It's just a maybe, nothing more."

"A maybe?" She repeated.

"A maybe, yes." He let his accident thicken a bit, rolling the words on his tongue. "A would have been; but will never be."

Rose merely stared at him for several moments before gasping. "A heart. You grew another heart!"

"And it will never beat." Scott told her calmly. "It's merely one last gift from Donna. I've chosen my life here…with you, Rose. With you, and Jamie and Kenzie. I'm not going anywhere."

She stared down at him for a long while, but then smiled.

Scott had thought everything was fine.

But then his life began to fall apart.

First they wanted to remove the second heart. He refused. It wasn't beating, but it also wasn't doing anything else. It wasn't like he didn't have the space to let it sit there! And while his vascular system would run better with both hearts beating, he was doing just fine with the one, thank you very much.

That and he was pretty sure it'd simply start to grow back again if it was removed. He was stubborn like that.

After bullying all the X-Rays they'd done of him into his possession he checked himself out of the hospital and hid the X-Rays away with everything else the Doctor had left him.

His next order of business was to delete any data regarding his second heart, and destroy any evidence that still remained in any computer.

He didn't need people kidnapping him in the night to dissect him.

In the three months it took for him to heal enough to have the casts removed, Rose had started taking longer missions with Torchwood, leaving him and Jackie to watch after Tony, Harmony, - Pete and Jackie's second daughter – Jamie, and RJ. Scott fell into an advisory type position with Torchwood and Unit, happily settling into the house father lifestyle.

When he got bored enough, he started writing an autobiography, suddenly wanting a written account of his life and his decisions.

Even if technically was actually only a few years older than his own children.

Scott was 38 years old when he has his first heart attack.

Well, he calls it a heart attack. He's pretty sure that a heart attack would be a blessing compared to how his entire body felt as if it had suddenly been forced into a compression suit, then sent out into a sun.

It was pain coming from his link to the Doctor.

Their link, their connection, so strong even though the Void.

Killing water, patient water – a fight he couldn't win _. Let people live, leave them to die; but I can save some of them, let me save even one of them, I don't want to let anyone else die why can't I save them! I just can't walk away I have to try!_

**Time Lord Victorious.**

He'd nearly broken a Fixed Point.

There was a time when an entire Race would have cringed in pain as the Fixed Point writhed to change its lines, but only Scott was left to feel anything.

Including the backlash of the Doctor's own anguish at what he'd nearly done, what he'd caused.

From that point on it was as if their bond had somehow grown stronger.

He felt a shock of pain from the Doctor a few months after that – _he can't be back he died why does this always seem to happen!_ – then _painpainpain lightning and thunder and_ _ **agony**_ _!_

" _I had estates. Do you remember my father's land, back home? Pastures of red grass stretching far across the slopes of Mount Perdition. We used to run across those fields all day, calling up at the sky. Look at us now."_

" _All that eloquence. But how many people have you killed?"_

" _I am so hungry."_

" _Your resurrection went wrong. That energy... Your body's ripped open. Now you're killing yourself."_

_**Scott! Scott oh no what's wrong? Wake up dear, wake up!** _

Scott felt the burn of the radiation, felt the Doctor scream and scream and scream in their collective mind as he absorbed every last bit of the energy flooding the small space.

There wouldn't be a point in saving Wilf's life for him to get radiation poisoning afterwards…

Saving Martha and Mickey from assassination by the Sontaran Skorr.

Saving Luke Smith from a car, one last look at Sarah Jane.

One last favor for Jack; a piece of closure for the memory of a woman he couldn't give part of his life too.

Donna's wedding. One last little miracle for the family.

Then Rose. So innocent and young.

" _You all right, mate?"_

" _Yeah."_

" _Too much to drink?"_

" _Something like that."_

" _Maybe it's time you went home."_

" _Yeah."_

" _Anyway, Happy New Year!"_

" _And you! …What year is this?"_

" _Blimey, how much have you had? 2005. January the first."_

" _2005\. Tell you what. I bet you're gonna have a really great year!"_

" _Yeah? See ya!"_

Felt him cry.

Felt him die.

In their collective memory, they'd never had a Regeneration that was so painful.

Then again, they'd never absorbed – willingly absorbed - over 500,000 RADs of Radiation either.

The coma had lasted a month this time, and he awoke with tears in his eyes.

Scott was forty when Rose stopped coming home. Some creative computer hacking showed him all he needed to about Rose's new life and ambitions.

She'd given up on them; Scott and James and Reinette J.

She was trying to find a way back through the Void once more.

He didn't know what hurt more; that she'd left him, or that she didn't even feel the need to say a word about it.

" __ **-to have and to hold,**  
from this day forward,  
for better, for worse,  
for richer, for poorer,  
in sickness and in health,  
until death do us part."

_**You keep her safe.** _

Would it be safer to let Rose do as she pleased? He knew Humankind wouldn't develop the technology necessary for sustained flight in space until 2059 with Susie Fontana Brooke; but even then they wouldn't be able to break through the Void for centuries…Millennia, if ever. No chance in it being in time for either of their lifetimes.

He decided then to live out his life, watch Rose's advances from a distance, and raise their children.

He'd forgotten just how… _hardheaded_ Rose Tyler could be.

And the power of the Time Vortex behind her.

He was forty seven years old when a swift sharp pain awoke in his neck; alighting his body in flames even as he was forced still.

Tricolored eyes snapped open as Scott blinked rapidly, mind dangerously slow as he took in the light to his left, the extra weight on his bed, the play of cool air over his somehow bare chest. After Kenzie was born he'd properly gotten into the habit of putting something on before going to bed; the kids would burst in at any time of the day and he really didn't feel the need to flash his kids.

Rose sat at his side for the first time in nearly a decade, looking just like as when he'd first met her in 2005; smiling gently down at him with a hand slowly stroking his chest.

"I'm so close." She murmured, not even talking to him; dark eyes locked on his chest…right over his heart. The left one. The human one. "I just need that one last piece, a true bond to cut through the Void." She pressed her nail into his skin right above his sternum, stabbing his flesh hard enough to cut the skin. "And you have what I need, honey."

Scott felt his eyes widen when she pulled away, one hand actually beginning to tap out a beat of four on his chest while she pulled from her jacket a long roll of black cloth.

He recognized it for what it was.

And couldn't even move when she made that first slice into the point she'd pierced, then cut down his abdomen.

Rose had to cut through six layers of skin, cut through a layer of muscle, break his rib cage, and then tear through the Pericardium before even getting to his heart. He was in danger of bleeding out before she even got to the Pericardium.

But then, she didn't need him alive anymore.

Drowning in agony, it was the Doctor this time who caught him before he could fall into true unconsciousness, swift thoughts quickly reading his memories to find out just exactly was happening.

 _ **Do you want to die?**_ The Doctor asked him calmly.

_Wait. What?_

_**It's a simple question.**_ Cradled as he was in the Doctor's presence, Scott could feel a lofty detachment from the man. _**You can let her do this to you, and let it kill you. Or you can fight back.**_

 _Fight back how?_ Scott demanded. _She's literally ripping my heart right out of my chest!_

 _ **So stop holding the second back. Let it begin.**_ Scott felt himself start. _**If you do that before she manages to cut off the blood supply to the first, you will be able to regenerate.**_

_But…_

_**Do you want to die?** _

_No…I can't die…not now._

_**Then do it.** _

For his entire existence Scott had known one thing to be true; that he had a human lifespan. It was why he was even in that alternate world in the first place why he was allowed to live with her, grow old with her; to share the ups and downs of human life.

But then the harsh slap of reality came with the crack of his snapping ribs.

She came into their home, into their bed room, not only with a surgeon's tools, but a tranquilizer strong enough to keep him down, _and rib cutters._

He let his eyes slip closed. _Oh god I hope none of the kids walk in on me any time soon._

The Doctor laughed softly, and then Scott felt hands – for better lack of a term – wrap around his shoulders, lips at his ears.

_**Go on now. It's all instinct, do it.** _

That knife was cutting into his Pericardium when his second heart beat for the first time, and if he wasn't paralyzed Scott knew his body would have writhed at the pure energy that ran through his body with that single first beat.

 _ **Don't try to fight her.**_ The Doctor warned sternly when Scott suddenly felt his fingers twitching. _**You're at her mercy at the moment, let her think you're still unconscious, then let the Regeneration occur.**_

The Doctor's grasp around his mind kept him completely still, the pain a distant memory. _What am I going to do now?_

 _ **Well, for starters, don't let Jamie and RJ see you all bloody.**_ The Doctor stated obviously. _**In fact I don't think it'd be a good idea for them to see you Regenerate at all. That would be frankly traumatizing for two teenagers.**_

Seemed like a good idea. Now if only he had any choice about that. _Will I change?_

 _ **I have no idea.**_ The Doctor stated cheerfully. _**Hopefully if you do actually change bodies, you won't look like me. That would be a tad bit awkward.**_

Scott couldn't help his snort.

Then agony flared through their bond when Rose finally reached her hand into his opened chest cavity, to wrap her hands around his exposed and still beating heart. Her free hand held a wicked pair of scissors he could somehow feel slowly cutting off each of his major arteries.

Superior vena cava.

Inferior vena cava.

Pulmonary artery.

Aorta.

The moment Scott felt Rose pulling his heart out of his chest immediately the Doctor seemed to clamp down on something while Scott fought to breathe, fingers weakly grabbing onto the soaked sheets under his body.

"Looks like your heart is the best gift you've ever given me, love." Rose murmured then, and a fully body shiver echoed through Scott's body as she placed the organ into a box along with the rest of her blood stained tools and walked out of the room.

Scott sat there motionless until he heard the distant sound of her footsteps doing down the stairs, before the Doctor eased on the grip he had. _**Now then. Just breathe.**_

The Doctor let go, pressed against something in Scott's head and the brunet's world was engulfed in gold.

Jackie watched her kids and grandkids run around each other with a fond air; nineteen year old Tony herding the younger's around him with the grace of long years of practice. At eighteen Rose and Scott's eldest son James was already at the breakfast table, nose buried into a book. Harmony – sixteen – and RJ – fifteen – were both at the stove, working around each other to cook breakfast for the others while Jackie herself set the table and Tony made sure everyone's things for the day were ready.

But one odd thing was Scott's missing presence.

Ever since he'd decided to stay home with Jackie to watch over their kids while Pete and Rose worked abroad with Torchwood, he was always up with the sun, holding toast out for everyone and already at the table with tea while the girls began to prepare a proper breakfast.

Glancing around them for a few seconds, Jackie turned to the table. "James, have you seen your father?"

The strawberry blond shook his head, glancing up from his book. "Actually, no I haven't." he frowned, glancing around him before book marking his spot as he stood. "I'll go check on him, shall I?"

The last time Scott didn't show up for their morning ritual was the beginning of his month long coma.

James swiftly made it towards the wing where his mother and father once lived together; their wing of the house holding their studies, Scott's laboratory and library, and their bedroom, the room farthest from the stairs.

He was just pressing a hand to the door when he smelt it.

Blood.

"Dad?" He called out, clenching a shaking fist. For the longest moment he heard nothing, then movement on his father's old bed. "Dad, are you alright?"

There was a harsh thump, and James started, opening the door.

"Oh my god."

His father's bed was a pool of blood. Soaked through the mattress and leaking onto the hardwood floor, the air was thick with the smell of dried blood, making James want to heave as he slowly inched into the bedroom. "D-dad?"

"O-over here." James let out a sob when he heard Scott answer, finding the man trying to get back onto his hands and knees on the far side of the bed.

Scott looked right miserable, long brown hair matted with the dried blood and half in his pale face, not even able to get onto his knees as he glanced up, eyes gold.

"Ah, James." He breathed. "Great, I was hoping to get up before anyone came looking." James fell to one knee, getting Scott onto his feet. "Just, get me to the bathroom." James did as ordered, helping Scott into the bathtub afterwards.

As he slowly let Scott lean back onto the porcelain, he gasped as Scott bit his lip, spotting the new addition to Scott's chest.

Long, jagged and disgusting; a physical reminder of Rose's betrayal, stretched across his chest like the signature of a skilled pathologist. The well known Y incision from shoulder to shoulder and down to his sternum, with another line inching down to his groin; the scars thick and raised on his skin.

"What happened?" Jackie asked.

They'd left him alone to clean off as best he could for a good hour before Jackie came barging into his room, a quick scream rousing him from his sleep in the lukewarm water.

Soon after she showed where Rose got her courage from, stripping the bed clean of sheets and mattress while getting everyone to help. Soon Tony and James were helping Scott in the bathroom to clean up properly while Jackie, Harmony, and RJ cleaned out the room.

Three hours after James found his father crawling away from his bed; the five of them had Scott settled into another bed closer to everyone else.

"Rose happened." Scott replied bitterly. Not expecting him to live the surgery, Rose hadn't done anything to sterilize the area, his body, or even her hands. Scott wasn't really surprised that he was running a fever now. "Tranqed me, cut me open."

Jackie shuddered, but it was a testament to far gone Rose was that Jackie didn't even question it. "But why?"

"She…pulled out my heart." Scott admitted softly. "I'm quite honestly shocked I didn't die of blood loss."

"But how in the hell are you alive now?" Jackie demanded, and Scott glanced up at her.

"Did Rose ever tell you of the odd lump the doctor's found in my chest after that car accident about ten years back?" Jackie's eyes faded as she thought back, nodding a few moments later. "That was actually a second heart growing in. I kept it from starting however…until last night. Starting my second heart is what saved me."

"So…are you a Time Lord now?" Jackie asked softly, and Scott shrugged, wincing as the movement pulled on fragile and tender skin.

"Most likely. At least enough to survive. I didn't let it start because I'd made my choice but…whatever can she have planned with a human heart? I have to watch after her, make sure she doesn't break any of the sacred rules of the universe." Jackie nodded. "But I did Regenerate last night. But just barely. It was just enough to heal my wounds and start the growth of a new heart, but nothing more." Scott winced again, closing his eyes as pain radiated through his body. "How are the kids taking this?"

"Remarkably well, considering you probably had more blood on that bed than in your body." Scott chucked softly.

Scott would spend the next week dancing between delirium and fever, weak as a newborn in bed while the children and Jackie took care of him.

Pete came home a few days after Scott's fever finally broke, and when he learned of what his daughter had done was baffled.

"I don't think it's Rose in there anymore." Scott confessed to the other man over a glass of brandy that night. "I could see the gold of the Time Vortex in her eyes before she started…I don't know what she could do with that kind of power."

_**I don't know if you can trust Peter Tyler.** _

The Doctor's voice roused Scott from his almost sleep later that night.

_Why do you say that?_

_**He has been working for Torchwood just like Rose.** _

_I work for Torchwood too._

_**When was the last time you actually did anything for them? No I think whatever Rose has been playing has been fully backed by Torchwood…and that means you're in danger if they find you're still alive.** _

However much he wanted to deny it, Scott couldn't doubt the Doctor's facts.

Over the next few days Scott slowly put back together all he had that would be considered valuable at all. Everything the Doctor gave to him put back in the trunks that were bigger on the inside; gifts from the TARDIS. All the clothing from the other universe, all the tech he'd been working on, his computer and laptops, his vast collection of books…and a nice chunk of the money he'd been saving away.

Each trunk was equipped a compression field that didn't interfere with the Isomorphic locks on them (something the rest of the world hadn't really figured out, but the Gallifreyan race had for millennia. The Doctor had given him the mech to do it, as long as they both kept it quiet) and when compressed they were small enough to press inside the several fake gems he wore around his neck and on his fingers.

It took him a month to recover from his impromptu surgery, but he had let to speak to anyone outside of his home save Pete; spending most of his time with the still growing TARDIS.

They came for him a month after that.

He didn't fight them, didn't bother trying to outmatch guns and out run jeeps.

He had a much better plan than something as stupid as that.

The first month UNIT treated him like a hospital patient, checking on the scars left from Rose's attack, making sure he was healed properly and that there was nothing wrong with him after the surgery.

After making sure he was well, they showed their true colors.

Do you know what this is? Can you fix this? Can you remake this? Can you build this? What do you think about Torchwood's capacity as the foremost experts in the paranormal?

On and on and on.

When he refused to build things for them, they asked that he return to his consultant work. When he refused to do that, and disabled every piece of technology they left with him, they locked him away in the suite they'd given him, and left him there.

That was exactly what he wanted.

With his second heart beating it's rhythm in his chest he could sense Time now. Every second, minute, hour, day, week, month, year…he had them back now. And the talents of the Time Lords humanity had yet to touch.

Like Telepathy. And while he never really practiced his Telepathy or Telekinesis; one thing he was good without even trying at was Technopathy – a branch of Telekinesis that focused on technology.

Technopathy was a rare gift in any corner of the Universe, and something not welcome in the culture of the Time Lords. Telepathy was also frowned upon in their society, so he had hid his mental talents away while still living on Gallifrey.

But he needed it now.

Slowly pulling down the barrier's he'd carried for centuries, Scott let his mental presence drift, extending his awareness throughout the room.

A month of practice had his 'eye' across the entirety of the building, all 2.3 square miles of it.

Then they brought his baby TARDIS into the building.

And she was screaming.

 _Too soon too soon_ it hurts _I'm not complete they broke the connection it's too soon_ it hurts _I can't sustain myself oh Doctor I'm sorry I'm so so sorry I can't help_ it hurts _I can't be with you just yet I have to go I'm sorry I must sleep now they hurt me so all I can do is help the best I can please don't leave me alone_ it hurts

For a brief shining moment they were connected like TARDIS and Time Lord should…then she faded away.

For twenty years he'd cared for and nurtured the Coral the Doctor had given him, fed it energy it needed and the connection it craved. Now, now when she would finally wake up, gain a mind and soul…she was dead; reduced to a coral again.

They didn't know it yet, but they'd brought upon them the wrath of a Time Lord.

He wasn't going to kill them. He didn't even plan on hurting them.

But they would all regret ever working for UNIT.

He started his revenge slowly, carefully maintaining his anonymity.

A flickering light bulb here, and another there; the only signs that he was slowly diverting power from one point of the building to another, starving the machinery of the energy it needed. Not enough to make it die, but enough that it had to strain wearing at its wiring. Stained wiring would be easier to ultimately make snap.

What he needed was a system that was a hair's width from failing. All it would need then was a single push to distract the whole of the base.

While sabotaging their machines he also wreaked havoc with their minds, playing harmless pranks on the ordinary workers and scientists. He started off small; making the random key pop off of keyboards, unscrewing the connection between tower and mouse/keyboard – for people who had microphones he would randomly muted their computer while they were talking. He take power from the computers until they barely had enough, and redirect it to their microwaves, making every meal burn.

The random give and take of electricity throughout the building supercharged certain metallic structures; once he noticed them Scott started directing the static all throughout the building, shocking hundreds of people. He especially was happy with the reactions from the scientists; dropped vials and screamed curses.

After months of torment some of the smarter people started to keep hard copies of their more important files –a week before Scott had started randomly cutting the power to a computer here and there making them lose what they had been working on – and Scott stole them, leaving them on the desk of another person on the opposite side of the building.

The deeper he got into the matrix of the building the easier it was to mess with the electronics, and after two months he started fucking with the computers themselves, deleting the OS from every other computer while leaving the ever hated Blue Screen of Death on a third of those left.

Another third he made their screensaver the Blue Screen of Death to see them freak out.

Within a few months time he had the workers miserable, so he branched out, turning his mischievous eye on the soldiers.

The very first thing he did was cheerfully set off a crate of grenades.

A full shipment of guns vanished the next day, packed away in a truck that was sent to the nearest body of water.

That however, was when the people in charge actually started thinking, and for the first time in nearly half a year paid the poor bored man a visit.

Knowing before they'd even made it to his floor that they were coming, Scott detangled himself from the web of telepathy he'd cast over the base, turning to the autobiography he was still playing with.

Typing it on the laptop he shouldn't have had.

It was a fun fact that he could actually use himself as a flash drive and save documents onto a 'finger'; keeping the files on hand so with a single touch he could transfer them to any device.

The gob smacked expressions on his visitor's faces had Scott grinning.

"Well hello." He greeted cheerfully, if a bit hoarsely. He actually hadn't talked to anyone in six months.

Before anyone else could reply, the one man in the room he didn't know stepped forwards, the name BARTHRIGHT on his breast. Barthright was a man with skin an odd shade of orange, close cropped hair a very unique shade of brown that was red in the light. His eyes were a shade of brown so dark they were almost black, not helped at all by the snarl on his face.

"We demand that you stop terrorizing our workers." The Colonel demanded.

"Stop doing what?" Scott replied, baffled. Terrifying was a very strong word to use

"You heard me, _alien_." Barthright snarled. He held his hands rigorously behind his back as if to hold himself back. "You have been terrorizing my men and the workers of his base for far too long and I demand it stop."

Scott tilted his head, closing his laptop while sending a raised eyebrow towards the only other person in the room that seemed to be baffled by the Colonel's audacity. Everyone else seemed resigned. Apparently the good General was the only one of the group who didn't know Barthright very well just yet; or thought the lower ranking man would actually follow orders.

Knowing General Roman like he did, Scott was leaning towards the latter.

General Roman had worked with Scott closely at one point, back when Scott as still a freelance agent and consultant for UNIT. Of all the men in the room, he was the one who knew best what Scott could do, given the right motivation.

"So." Scott started slowly, crossing his legs while lacing his hands together over his laptop. "You think you can order me around." He stated calmly. "Let's not even get to the point of how I could have done anything when you've had me locked away in this room for half a year."

Barthright's left eye twitched, and he took a few giant steps forward, slamming his fist down onto Scott's desk. "You are the property of UNIT now." He hissed softly, pressing both hands onto the hardwood. "You have no rights past what I decide-"

"You mean what General Roman over here decides." Scott butted in coldly, jerking a hand towards the dark skinned man. " _You_ actually have no authority over me as a prisoner of UNIT. So stop with the bravado and get the fuck out of my face before I make you regret ever raising your voice at me."

Barthright's face darkened and Scott smirked, placing both feet on the ground. "I'm sure you were warned not to anger me, right? But of course you couldn't keep your mouth shut when you saw skinny little old me, because you think you know everything about me from reading my file, right? Tall and thin without any meat on his bones, a pacifist closer to fifty than forty who refuses to hold a gun let alone kill; intelligent but quiet, someone easy to bully, am I right Colonel?"

Scott smirked slowly, hands still laced together in front of him while stared up into dark eyes. "But I'm guessing there aren't any actual eyewitness accounts on my file, is there?" He already knew there wasn't, having read the faulty and old file himself. And played with it a bit. "Nothing about my personality from say; Commander Briggs… who happens to be standing behind you?"

Nearly ten years ago Commander Briggs was simply a captain in name only, thrust into a position he had no clue how to command. Scott had taken him under his wing, teaching him how to lead, how to command and control. The fact that the man was now the Second in Command of the UNIT main base after a General while only being a single Star General said much for Scott's teachings.

"I'm sure General Roman didn't tell you much either."

Nine years ago Five Star General Roman was a Lieutenant Colonel who thought nothing of quiet agent Noble. Until Scott singlehandedly took over his army for three days while they fought a siege of hostile aliens who refused to cooperate despite anything Scott said or asked.

General Roman was also the only man in the room who'd seen Scott truly physically fight to save lives.

"In fact I have to say you're the only member of the Commander Seats of UNIT in this room I don't know. Isn't that just _wizard_?" Scott commented suddenly, taking his eyes away from Barthright to glance up.

Without even having to look down, Scott knew Barthright had launched a fist towards his face and shifted to the side, one hand gently moving his laptop to the side while his other shoved down on the other man's fist, stopping it dead on the wood of his desk. Keeping his fist pinned where it was against the desk, Scott lifted his free hand to jerk Barthright closer.

"Since I know about three ways to ruin your life and end your career, I suggest you listen to me now." He breathed into the other man's ear. "One, step down from your position as a Member of the Commander Seats." Scott began, flicking one of Barthright's insignia from his uniform jacket. "Two, give up Command of the Soldiers on base; you're horrible at it, stop trying." Barthright's face darkened as Scott ripped the ribbons free from his breast pocket, dropping them onto the desk. "Three, don't _ever_ try talking down to me again. Understood?"

Scott pushed Barthright away, settling back into his seat while holding the stolen insignia in his hand as Barthright stumbled away. Scott watched him back away with a neutral expression his face before he smirked widely, tossing the pins into the air.

"Did anyone have anything important to tell me?"

Roman snorted, walking up to lean a hip on the desk. "We apologize for not being able to come visit sooner. Despite how we're the Commanders of the General Army, we aren't in fact in charge of UNIT as a whole."

"I know." Scott replied calmly, settling back into his seat. "So am I actually stuck here as an alien?"

"Well. You did survive getting your heart cut out, last I heard."

Scott lifted his hands in a shrug. "Doesn't mean I deserve to be locked away like I'm going to suddenly start eating people."

Briggs flinched while Blare snorted, the single woman in the room merely rolling her eyes.

"UNIT feels that we can no longer trust you with human affairs." Mrs Clair stated. "They fear you have loyalties outside of Humankind."

Scott rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever." He lent forward, eyeing Barthright. "What they think I can't honestly care about. Instead." He turned back to General Blare, who had yet to say a word. "What has she been up to these past few weeks?"

Briggs finally spoke. "She hasn't been on Earth."

Scott narrowed his eyes, lifting an eyebrow in the man's direction. "you're completely sure."

"Positively."

A five Star General since the day they met nearly twenty years ago, Joshua Briggs was a man well past his prime, black hair edged with grey and silver. But black eyes were still sharp as Briggs laid down a folder in front of Scott, a quick flick of his finger opening it.

"In the past year she hasn't been seen anywhere on Earth save one single time a few weeks before you were brought here. She was seen with this."

Mrs Clair came forward then, pulling from her own paperwork a single picture.

Scott took a single glance at the image and jerked upright, eyes wide as they became completely gold.

It was Rose, there was no denying it. She was wearing a tight and obviously durable leather outfit, long hair let loose around her shoulders. But Scott noticed two things first; the bright gold of her eyes even remarkable in a picture, and the three jewels she carried in a cloth lined box, beautifully cut gems of red, pink, and yellow each easily the size of a grown man's thumb.

"What? What is it?" Roman demanded. "We had assumed they were simply gems, but apparently not."

"What are they?" Briggs asked quietly. "They obviously aren't normal gems."

Scott shook his head slowly, before letting out a single incredulous laugh as he looked up.

"Well isn't this _ironic_." He mused harshly. "Rose found the Rose Stars."

There was a beat of silence.

"Rose Stars?"

"Each planet in the universe have the main elements; oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen…carbon." Scott lifted the picture towards the light, staring at it. "But while the element may be virtuously the same, the soil from world to world changes how gems are created. Such as diamonds." Scott finally looked away from the picture to the others in the room. "On certain planets the diamonds found are special, completely unique in all the Universe. There are several series of unique gems. She's got the Rose Star series here."

He put the picture down, rubbing at his eyes.

"So?" Barthright finally spoke again, and Scott shot him a look.

"Normally you'd have the right idea. The Rose Star Series of diamonds are unique and very very rare – there might be up to three of each stone this size in the universe right this moment? – but normally no one can do anything with them. But Rose would know what to do with them."

"What can she do with them?" Blare asked, and Scott sighed.

"Coupled with the right technology and little bit of power, you can use the Rose Stars to punch a hole through the fabric of reality itself."


	2. Back Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott's journey begins - First step, stop Rose from killing the Doctor's newest Incarnation. Second...well he'll get there eventually

Lush red grass covered miles of field, the odd tree dotting the land. Over head the sky was a dark orange, growing darker and darker as the twin suns slowly set on opposite sides of the world.

Standing silently at the memory of his lost home, the Doctor lifted a hand as the wind began to blow, silver leaves dancing through the air.

Then a voice echoed from behind him, an unfamiliar Scottish brogue. "Of all the things to dream, Doctor."

The Doctor turned, frowning when he caught sight of an unknown standing nearby.

"Well. It is a nice dream…"

The man was tall – several inches over the Doctor himself – thin and gangly with long brown hair that fell to his shoulders.

He wore mostly dark colors; a light grey shirt tucked into black skinny jeans with a black vest over it, hiding what looked like Gallifreyan text in gold over his chest. A black silver pinstriped jacket and black combat boots finished the dark look.

At first he seemed someone to avoid, but then the man smiled. It lit up his face, that smile; turning his somewhat dark appearance into what appeared to be a happy if forebodingly mischievous man.

The Doctor recognized that smile, had seen it in the mirror for nearly two decades.

"You're the Meta-Crisis." He stated matter-o-factly.

"Jean-Paul Noble." The man corrected cheerfully, hooking his thumbs into the pockets of his jeans. Standing there, he was almost a living mirror of who the Doctor had once been with a darker color pallet, down to the pinstriped jacket as he ambled forward. "But I go by Scott."

Running a hand through his hair, the Doctor just watched his double while Scott smiled cheerfully looking his new self over.

The longer the Doctor looked, the more he could see it. The differences between his previous incarnation and the man Scott had become.

Scott was actually taller by at least two inches – though it may have been those boots - with red highlights in his long hair, reminiscent of Donna.

Then there were his eyes.

Donna's own blue/green and gold ringed eyes surrounded by brown stared at him from that familiar face.

"I know our bond was strong before." The Doctor stated. "But we've never dreamed of each other before; never been able to speak face to face."

"I can explain that." Scott began with a sigh, rocking on his heels. "It's Rose. She…" he rocked forward, then shrugged tilting his head to the side and downwards. " _Well_ … she found the Rose Diamonds."

"…That's impossible." The Doctor breathed. "They aren't on Earth."

"Well she hadn't been on Earth for the past seven months, so that's how she got the damn things I'm guessing." Scott smirked as the Doctor grabbed onto his hair.

"But _how_?"

"I can't be certain." Scott admitted. "Haven't actually spoken to her in awhile, but." Scott frowned then. "Her eyes have been gold for over a year now."

The Doctor flinched. "The Time Vortex?"

"Only thing I can think of. I doubt she's come into contact with any other non human entity that can change the eyes so obviously." Scott replied. "If she does find a way back, she'll be going straight for you."

Green eyes were slightly wide as the Doctor stared at him. "Why?" The Doctor demanded.

Scott eyed him for several long moments before laughing with a shake of his head. "Why? Come on now _think_ spaceman!" The Doctor couldn't help but smile at the name. "She wants who you were. I wasn't good enough, wasn't the … _genuine_ article." Scott paused as another gust of wind swept through the fields the stood on, sending his open jacket flapping through the air. A single hand swiped the hair from his face as he turned back to the Doctor, deadly serious. "She won't like that you've Regenerated since then." He sighed. "I tried to tell her, I tried." Scott shrugged with a bitter smile. "Got a nice shock for my troubles."

"Like I had a choice in the matter!" The Doctor retorted, and Scott smiled.

"Like you _didn't_." He teased softly and the Doctor flushed, glancing away. "But if she can't get what she wants, she'll just kill you and move backwards through time."

"Kill me." The Doctor repeated. "She'd actually kill me."

"That woman may look like Rose, but don't mistake her for the soul you knew." Scott cautioned. "She's dangerous and deadly. She had no trouble attempting to kill me and I'm the father of her children." Scott shook his head slowly. "She'd get you out of the way before pursuing her goals." The Doctor winced at that. "Just…be prepared. If she decides to travel backwards, you know I have to follow her."

"And potentially change my timeline." The Doctor finished with a sigh, idly fiddling with his bowtie.

The two stood in silence for a moment before the sky over head changed color, the beautiful burnt orange darkening as purple bled through the clouds.

Scott gazed upwards, then closed his eyes, head tilted back.

"It's time." He stated suddenly, tilting his head back down to eye the Doctor as his form began to fade. "See you on the other side, Doctor."

~ The Next Day ~

Smiling softly Amy watched the Doctor as he danced around the console; turning this, flipping that, and pressing the odd button here and there.

It was scary to think that she'd nearly lost the Doctor's trust. A single mistake, one she was lucky able to rectify.

But just like that he'd forgiven her…and now she was about to meet _Winston Churchill._

Not even a day and already she could tell nothing would be simple, easy, or boring aboard the TARDIS.

She was finding she wouldn't have it any other way.

"Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill." The Doctor was saying, typing into what looked like an old fashion type recorder on the TARDIS console. "Born in November of 1874 and a good friend of mine; he's currently going through World War Two at the moment." The Doctor poked his head around the column of the console, grinning widely. "He's always wanted to come aboard, but as you well know he's got more important things to do going the slow route."

"Never even thought about bringing him along one trip?"

The Doctor tilted his head for a moment, looking upwards as he thought about it. "Maybe for a second." Amy laughed. "But you know what the man looks like right?" The Doctor mimed a very wide waist line. "I always get into trouble, always _always!_ I'd rather the man not have a-"

A bright shock of light suddenly went through the room and the Doctor cut off, throwing a hand up to cover his eyes, and winced when Amy let out a shriek of pain.

The light faded just as quickly as it came and the Doctor removed is forearm from his face, darting over to where Amy knelt on the ground, hands covering her face, hair strewn out all about her. "Amy! All you alright?" she made a noise of disbelief and dismay, and the Doctor laughed a bit. "Come on then Pond; try to look at me now, the light has faded. I want to see if your eyes were damaged in anyway…"

Amy lifted her head, slowly opening her eyes, and the Doctor let out a sigh when he noted only dilated pupils. "You'll be fine, just let your eyes settle a bit." He patted her on the head then jumped back onto his feet, turning about. "Now what…" He felt his face pale as he took in the woman on one knee on the floor only feet away from him, body smoking as she slowly shook herself. "…have we got here." He finished softly, right as the blond woman slowly shook her head then glanced up, brown and gold eyes staring at him through the curtain of thick blond hair. "Oh dear."

She looked around a bit while she stood, shaking her hair out of her face while eyeing the interior of the TARDIS. She wasn't that tall, several inches shorter than the Doctor and Amy; but dressed in dark leather that almost looked like armor. Something about her demeanor, the very way she stood made the woman seem…dangerous.

Without even looking at the two people in front of her, the woman glanced around a bit, taking in the glass floor underneath her. "She's changed…"

The Doctor sucked in a startled breath, closing his eyes for a moment to simply savor her voice.

"She likes to change with me." The Doctor explained wearily, hands hovering in the air. "That and an explosion helps when redecorating."

Rose turned to him then, narrowing her eyes when he merely bounced on the balls of his feet, folding his hands behind his back.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

The Doctor sighed. "You already know who I am. Of all my companions…you can see without being told."

She narrowed her starlit eyes at him. "Who are you!"

"He's the Doctor." Amy answered for him, standing defiantly beside him while the man himself sighed softly. "Now who the heck are you?"

"I'm Rose Tyler." The blond stated softly, and then pulled a gun from behind her, aiming it at the Doctor who immediately lifted his hands, eyes going wide. "Now where is the Doctor? And what have you done to his TARDIS?"

"Rose, stop this please." The Doctor began frantically, jerking Amy behind himself when Rose turned the gun towards the red head. "You remember my ability to Regenerate; you know that I can change, be reborn if I die – you saw it happen once before! –and I'm sorry Rose, I'm so sorry but it happened again!"

Rose's face pinched then, her uplifted hand beginning to shake. "You're _lying_ to me. _Where is the Doctor!"_

" _I'm right here!"_ He snapped back, eyes going dark. "I'm standing right in front of you Rose Tyler, open your eyes and _look at me!"_

Then and there she finally did. Her eyes went wide as she started to shake, before her mouth pressed into a single line. "Fine then. Should have known you couldn't watch over yourself." The Doctor flinched as Amy glanced up to stare at the back of his head, hands gripping onto the back of his dress shirt. "Guess I have to go back a bit more."

The Doctor's eyes widened. "What?"

Rose didn't pay him any mind, lifting her wrist to press on the buttons of the device there, making green eyes lock onto it.

"A Vortex Manipulator." He breathed. "Where did you get that?"

Task done, Rose lifted the gun back towards the Doctor's face. "You don't need to know. You'll be dead soon anyways."

" _But if she can't get what she wants, she'll just kill you and move backwards through time."_

Despite knowing that his other wouldn't lie to him even if it meant bringing comfort; seeing Rose Tyler point a gun at his face made his hearts nearly stop.

Seconds before she could pull the trigger a man appeared behind her, grabbing onto her wrist and spinning her 'round so the shot sailed towards the TARDIS' doors. Snarling angrily, Rose thrust her elbow into the man's face, breaking his grip when he ducked. The man fell to one knee and pushed her away, making her stumble towards the ramp and away from everyone else.

The two stared at each other for several long moments as the man stood tall, revealing his long lean frame, taller than both the Doctor and Amy alike by several inches. Tall and thin; the man was a long black line of leather, his ankle length coat buttoned up far enough to reveal only the long line of his throat; sleeves long enough to show the tips of his glove covered fingers. Only the sliver chain he wore over the jacket was visible, wrapped around his hips once with another hoop of chain left dangling down his leg.

"Scott." She said after a few moments; so much emotion – good and bad - condensed in that one word that the man flinched, pressed a hand against the TARDIS' console when he swayed a bit.

"Rose." He replied, and Amy perked up at the Scottish brogue rolling off of his tongue. "Hello again love."

She snorted, aiming the gun at the man this time. "I guess this means my men won't be coming through."

Scott held up a single red stone, rolling it between long fingers. "Nope." He replied almost cheerfully, popping the _'p'_. A hum echoed through the air as Rose turned the setting up on her gun.

"Now now now, there is no need for violence!" The Doctor stated urgently, throwing his hands up again when those gold brown eyes turned to him.

The tall man leaned against the TARDIS console with a soft tired sigh, pressing one hand onto his hip, the other softly stroking the desktop of the console. "Sorry Doctor but she's too far gone to reason with." He stated matter-o-factly. "I've been trying for over twenty years now."

"Twenty years…?" the Doctor repeated softly, green gaze roaming from the man to the woman. Both who looked to _be_ in their twenties. "You've both been in the other world for over twenty years since I last saw you? Why didn't you mention that before?" He demanded.

Scott opened his mouth, and then paused, shaking his head as he stepped to the side, keeping himself in the range of Rose's gun. "I would explain it to you Doctor, but as I'm sure Rose and I will be changing your past soon, so there's no need. You'll find out sooner or later." Scott, head tilted gently to one side, started to lean away from the console.

"Not if you die here!" Rose spat out and fired. Scott latched a hand onto Amy and the Doctor's shoulders as he forced them down and then grabbed something off of the TARDIS' console as he darted towards Rose, suddenly dropping down onto one knee as he swept her feet from under her.

Catching herself on both hands, Rose let out a squeak when Scott pulled one hand from under her, then sat on her back, pulling that arm back around so he could fiddle with the Vortex Manipulator on her wrist.

Sprawled on the ground and blinking, Amy rolled off of the Doctor who popped up right, staring at the spectacle the couple was making.

"Get offa me you fat arse!"

Scott snorted, pointing a _Sonic Screwdriver_ – silver and blue – towards the Manipulator. "Sorry love, no can do." The Manipulator sparked briefly. "Because seriously the fact that you could use this thing to lock onto the TARDIS while she was mid-flight is rather remarkable and just a tad bit scary – well a little more than a tad, more like really really scary – severely scary even; and it doesn't do anyone any good _soo-!"_ The Manipulator sparked again, the bright gold light on its keypad flashing before it turned a dark green. "No more locking on the old girl now!" Then the man stuck the sonic in his mouth and started typing coordinates into the Manipulator, clicking the final button with an air of relief before jumping off of the woman.

Instantly Rose was kneeling with her gun in hand, firing a single shot into Scott's chest before she vanished, sending Scott's body flying back.

"Fuck!" Scott cried out, vanishing under the console and into the lower deck where the TARDIS' massive web of wiring could be seen. "Oh _ooww_."

The Doctor and Amy stared at each other for several moments before the Doctor leapt over the railing, Amy skidding down the ramp moments later as the Doctor pulled Scott onto his lap.

"Are you alright?" The Doctor asked wearily, green eyes roaming the smoking spot on the man's chest while the stranger rubbed at his eyes.

"Oh yea, just peachy." He moaned out fiddling with the leather gloves on his hands.

"Now can you explain to me _how_ you're okay?" the Doctor then demanded, removing the man's hand from his face and pulling it closer to his own chest. "How did you survive that shot? And how does Rose have an _Alpha Meson Pistol-_!" He stared right into tricolored eyes as the other blinked at him, shaking the hand in his grasp.

Amy watched, unable to hold back her giggles as the unknown man slapped his palm over the Doctor's mouth, the Doctor still clutching onto his wrist.

"Shut up and maybe I can answer you." The man stated humorously. He sat up, hand still over the Doctor's mouth as loosened the chain around his hips and undid his coat, then the jacket he wore underneath. While they watched, he shrugged both the black and silver pinstriped jacket and black leather coat off, and then undid the vest he wore over a dark grey shirt, pulling said shirt from his trousers. Sending the Doctor a look, he pulled the shirt up, pulling free a pad he had underneath it, a creamy golden color with several harsh black blasts all over it. It was obvious it had taken a world of abuse before, still hot to the touch.

He stared down at the pad angrily. "Three shots and it's done." He muttered, eyes roaming the blast areas before he threw it away from them, pulling his shirt back down; still looking completely untidily. "Now isn't that just _wizard_."

Amy couldn't help but look the man up and down, briefly eyeing his revealed hip bones before gazing over the grey shirt with beautiful circular symbols in gold on his chest, partially covered by the black vest. His taste in clothing was just as random as the Doctor's but somehow came together in an oddly fashionable pallet. Coupled with the suit jacket and leather coat, Scott carried the air of a gothic rocker, his hair only cementing the fact, the long locks reaching inches past his shoulders – nearly as long as her own locks - with the odd flash of red in the wild brunet mane. Multiple necklaces dangled over his chest, each with different length chains so they didn't over lap, several different symbols but all with a fairly large stone embedded into the charms, all silver. He had a five a clock shadow going, but the growth was easily ignored when he flashed a completely infectious smile her way; seeing her looking him up and down.

The Doctor was studying the pad still. "Oh." He mumbled. "This is an alloy of self-morphing flesh and Pxyhi-Plastic isn't it. That would easily block most blaster shots…but not an Alpha Meson Pistol."

"It absorbs enough of the damage that she doesn't kill me." Scott rolled his neck. "Still hurts like a bitch though." He scratched at the back of his head then, running his fingers through long unruly hair, before lowering his hand, one finger stroking the emerald gem on his chest. "But as fun as this is; I really need to get back to work." He made to stand, only for his knees to give out half way, Amy and the Doctor barely managing to catch him before he fell back to the floor. "Fuck, that was a _trip_." Scott murmured, unresisting when Amy and the Doctor scrambled back up the ramp and plopped him into chair by the console. "Sorry about that, looks like I'm going to need to make the padding a little stronger next time…"

Amy darted back over to where they'd left his clothing, dumping the pile into the brunet's lap.

"Apparently so. That and I can't expect the jump that got you here to have been any fun at all." The Doctor stated, leaning back on the console to eye the man while he slowly, stiffly hooked his long leather jacket onto the chair's back.

"How long have you been following her?"

"We just came through the Void from the alternate universe." Scott said, leaning back bonelessly when the Doctor spun about on his heels, diving for his own discarded jacket.

"I forgot to ask before, how _did_ she manage to lock onto the proper Universe?" the Doctor asked distractedly, flicking through different settings on his Sonic.

" _You_ forgot to ask?" Amy stated teasingly as the Doctor stood tall again, pouting at her.

"When you're talking to someone in a dream world certain things don't seem very important as others like in actual waking moments." The Doctor told her, quickly scanning the man between them. Flicking the Sonic open, he continued talking while eyeing the device. "At that point I was more worried about _how_ Rose actually was opening the Void, not how she was going to get _here_." He glanced at Scott for a moment, then back to the Sonic. "I was actually expecting her to jump Universes for a year…or so…" Scott snorted, pulling the sash of a bag over his head.

Amy blinked, glancing at the bag Scott suddenly had. _Where did he get that from? He didn't have it before._

"The question of how was completely valid at the time." Scott butted in, working his arms back into his suit jacket. Before he could however, the Doctor grabbed onto his left wrist, shoving his Sonic into his armpit while pulling the glove off of Scott hand, tossing it into the air. Amy caught the piece of leather, darting around the Doctor to take a look.

The smell of cooked flesh wafted from Scott's twitching fingers, and Amy let out a shocked yell, the charred leather in her hand crunching as she clenched her fists.

"And what did you do to get your hands like this?" The Doctor mused, pulling his Sonic free to scan the bright red limb.

Scott licked his lips, and then sighed. "I had to grab something that was really hot."

"Did you not have any time to protect yourself?"

"Not really. Didn't really have time to think about the consequences." The Doctor lifted an eyebrow. "Okay I did; but the pros outweighed the cons."

"Amy, down the hall the first door to your right is the med-bay. Can you grab everything the TARDIS put on the counter for me?"

Amy dropped the ruined glove with a quick nod and raced off; leaving the Doctor to gently pull Scott's other hand free of the crumpled leather.

"It's been over twenty years and you haven't changed a bit." The Doctor mused.

"Are you really surprised?" Scott replied, lifting his eyebrows.

"Not really. Was hoping old age would soften the urge to get into trouble…"

"Oi!" Scott interrupted. "I'm pretty sure you're still older than me!"

"But I just seem to carry the age better." The Doctor smirked, and then laughed at the look on Scott's face. "But no, I suspect you are in fact older than me…Just turned 907." Scott stared at him with wide eyes. "If you were in the other Universe for twenty years that makes you roughtly 926, nineteen years there."

Scott huffed a snort. "You'll catch up in no time I assure you." The Doctor chuckled as Amy made her way back then, first holding up a bottle of thick green liquid.

Scott took one look at the liquid and sighed tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling. "Do you have to?"

"Do you like your hands?" The Doctor replied, already squirting the stuff onto Scott's left hand. Scott's entire body twitched and he didn't reply, biting his lip as the Doctor meticulously covered his entire hand with the stuff.

"What happened to your hands?" Amy asked, and Scott turned to her.

"I had to pick up, and then hold some very very hot items." Scott said, twitching in his seat when the Doctor started to bandage the now shaking limb. "And there's the end result."

His other hand was bright red, the skin blistered and peeling right before their eyes.

Scott stared down at his hand with a pout. "Useless that."

"Guess whatever you had to mess with was pretty important for you to do this to yourself." The Doctor mused, and Scott sighed.

"I'd say so yes." Scott winced as the Doctor started on his left hand. "Hey Doll, can you help me get my jacket on?" Amy glanced at him, but then shrugged, helping the man get his hand through the sleeve. "But on a different note, now that Rose has broken through, the thought of _how_ comes up for most. Then _why_. I'm a bit ahead however; I'm on _don't care._ " Amy watched him settle into the jacket and sigh, leaning back into the chair as he got comfortable, the Doctor helping him get his left hand through the sleeve.

That vest underneath the jacket had to be a light weight thing if he could wear a coat and a jacket over it, then a t-shirt under. Eyeing the completely ensemble Amy grinned softly, then covered her mouth, lifting an eyebrow when Scott shot her a look, smirking.

The Doctor gave their guest a once over and smirked. "Still stuck on the pinstripes eh?" He noted humorously, and Scott smirked at him before sticking his tongue out.

"Like you can talk Mr. Tweed n bowtie."

"Hey I like bowties; bowties are cool." The Doctor tapped his – dark blue at the moment – pushing it up and down.

Behind his back Amy slowly shook her head, and Scott laughed, the chuckle making Amy look at him with wide eyes.

But before she could even say a word the Doctor wheeled around to point at her. "No."

She gaped at him while Scott laughed again. "Just can't get away from the flirty types can you." The Doctor huffed. "First Jack now Miss Ginger here."

Amy huffed. "I have a name you know."

Scott glanced at her then, smirking. "Then let me know it."

"Oh that's right. Amy, this is Jean-Paul Noble; Scott, Amelia Pond, twenty first century girl from Scotland."

" _Amelia Pond._ " Scott repeated glancing upright with a bit of a pout to his lips before grinning at her. "That's a fantastic name. Like some explorer in an adventure story."

The Doctor grinned, waving his hands about. "Isn't it?"

"You both must be very close." Scott and the Doctor turned to smile up at her, and she elaborated. "You had a very similar response to my name." They both grinned.

"Well Scott and I go far back." The Doctor began.

Scott looked up, tilting his head back. "Very…very very far back."

"Where does your nickname come from?" Amy asked before the Doctor could get out another word.

Scott turned to her with a grin. "I wasn't born or raised in Scotland. Twenty two years back I sounded just like jawless over here; all prim and proper with a British accent." He tilted his head towards the Doctor, and they both grinned when the brunet shut his mouth with a click. "But I fell into a coma, was out like a light for a few days; woke up with the accent. Dunno how or why. My step mum started calling me Scotty just to make fun of me, but then the name kinda got stuck."

"It suits you."

Scott lifted an eyebrow, a grin growing slowly on his face. "Why thank you, Amelia Pond."

"It's Amy."

"You said twenty years." The Doctor butted in, and the two turned to stare at him. "But now you're saying twenty-two. Twenty or twenty-two? Which one is it?"

"Twenty two years I lived in the Parallel Universe in total." Scott replied, baffled. "It's called rounding down!"

"But that makes you 928!" the Doctor crowed. "That's twenty-one years apart, _not_ nineteen!"

" _What_ does it _matter?_ " Scott demanded. "If it wasn't for your midlife crisis about our age we'd be closer to fifteen hundred instead of one thousand, so what does two years matter!?"

The Doctor flinched back, staring at the man with a frown and Scott only smirked, turning to the TARDIS console when it suddenly flashed, destroying the moment as the Doctor made a excited noise darting away from Scott to eye the TARDIS console's screen.

"AHAH! Found it." The Doctor started tapping away at the buttons while staring at the screen and Scott stood, necklaces twinkling against each other as he ambled over to the Doctor. "Oh dear. Where did she find an item strong enough to create a _bridge_ between this Universe and the other?"

"Can't you tell?" Scott asked softly. Behind the Doctor's back, Amy watched as Scott removed one necklace, its chain a thick silver rope design with a single charm; a heart made of silver embedded with a Topaz stone.

"I don't have enough Data." The Doctor mumbled as Scott gently drew a finger on the face of the jewel, glancing up to watch Amy as the stone flashed. Scott lifted a finger to his lips, shushing the woman then drew a finger around the stone, pulling his hand away as the gem popped open, it's top hovering in the air as between the two topaz's, another stone appeared.

Easily bigger than Scott's own fist, the stone looked to be a white gem with a dark center before Scott grabbed it, free hand clicking the Topaz's back together as he put the necklace into his pocket, and then walked over to stand beside the Doctor.

"This should help your musing." Scott held the stone up towards the Doctor, who gasped, staring down at it.

"…Oh Rassilon." The Doctor murmured, gently taking the stone from Scott's hand. "Can you still feel it?"

Scott didn't answer back as he strolled back over to the chair and plopped back into it, rubbing a hand over his left breast.

The Doctor looked up from the stone then, and then shook his head.

"If she had the technology to create this…" He trailed off then, and Amy walked over.

"What is it? What's so important?"

Scott looked Amy up and down, a faint smile on his face. "She's very new isn't she."

"My first Companion since Donna. She's been aboard 4 hours and 37 minutes now." The Doctor replied distractedly, and Scott waved Amy over.

"So long enough for one adventure eh?" Scott laughed. "Let him think a bit, I'll explain the general facts." Watching as the man lifted a finger, Amy got comfortable while Scott slipped into teacher mode, something that seemed practiced with him. "The TARDIS is a beautiful and powerful machine; but even she has limitations." He sighed. "She can travel through time and space, to any point in history in any part of the Universe, but that's it. This Universe alone."

"You mean there are different Universes out there?" Amy asked incredulously, and Scott beamed.

"You're quick." He complimented, grinning widely. "Hey Doctor! I like her!"

"Well I do too so that was obviously expected." The Doctor quibbled, gently hooking a wire around the gem in his hand.

"And what does he mean by that?" Amy demanded, and Scott sighed again, scratching the back of his head. When he lowered his hand, Amy couldn't help but notice the shaking.

"Well…" He began slowly. "Thing is-" He let out a frustrated sigh. "I am what is known as a Human Time Lord Biological Meta-Crisis. I was created from the genetic material of the Doctor and a human woman; grown from a part of his flesh that was over charged with Regeneration Energy – Regeneration Energy I'll explain later don't worry – and instantly grown." Scott snapped, and Amy caught a glimpse of two rings on his left hand, visible through the bandages. One was on his ring finger. "Just like that. I am basically a clone of the Doctor, of the man he was before you met him. I have all of his memories from that point and back and personality quirks; the same morals, and ideals as him. A good chunk of me _is_ the Doctor, with about two percent of the woman who activated the Meta-Crisis that gave birth to me." He ran a hand through his hair, shaking it so flashes of another color flashed in the light. "Like the red. She was Ginger."

"So…" Amy blinked rapidly. "You're basically like a test tube baby."

Scott snorted. "Close." Amy looked at him, and Scott shook his head. "Yea, no; not close at all; but if you want to think of it that way then go ahead. But that was that the Doctor was talking about. If he likes it, there's a good ninety percent chance I'll like it too - well… maybe closer to ninety five. Ninety eight." He paused for a second, leaning his body around Amy to give the Doctor a quick once over before leaning back and shaking his head once. "…But not the bowtie."

"Hey!" The Doctor exclaimed.

"But yes, about the TARDIS." Scott continued, cutting the Doctor off with a wave of his hand and a smirk as the other man fumed. "She can't pass through the Void, the space of Nothing between Universes; not unless the walls between the worlds are cracked. But if _that's_ happened then all the different and seperate Universes could collide together and collapse; which is bad."

"But Rose managed to create a hole between the world she lived and this one- and from the looks of it, a very stable hole." The Doctor stated tapping something with his Sonic. "And I'm surprised whatever she did worked so well. If you hadn't interrupted the link, the connection would still be open on that side…and I can see no disruptions in the Void. That link could have stayed open indefinitely. It's a very good thing you broke the connection…but in doing so you experienced a very nasty backlash." The Doctor strolled away from the console giving Scott a quick once over with his Sonic. "It's been over half an hour since you crossed through the Void and you're hearts are _still_ pounding. Given some rest you'll make a full recovery however." He closed the device, holding it between both his hands. "Rose was always smart…but I didn't expect this from her."

"If she's from another Universe then how do you know her?" Amy asked. "Scott just said you can't cross Universes."

"Because Rose was originally from this Universe." Scott explained. "She's a girl from London, traveled with me years ago." Scott paused for several moments, before biting his lip. "To save her life, I had to let her remain in a Parallel Universe with her family. Her mother and boyfriend were there as well, as well as the alternate version of her father. Years later when the walls were collapsing because of an invasion of Dalek's, she managed to get back to me - to the Doctor. Around that time is when I, the Meta-Crisis was created." Scott shot the Doctor a quick look. "After the Dalek's were defeated – I destroyed them all – the Doctor took us back to the parallel world while the walls were still open, and left Rose and myself there."

"Why?" Amy turned around to eye the Doctor. "Scott hasn't said it yet, but I can tell you loved this girl, Rose. Why let her go?"

"One thing Scott isn't saying is that when he destroyed the Daleks, he destroyed over two thousand Dalek ships; easily four million Daleks not even an hour after he was created." Amy gasped, turning around to stare at Scott. Brown, green, and gold eyes stared back; unrepentant. "And while I can understand why he did it; understand and completely agree with it in all honesty; but the fact that he could destroy so many reminded me painfully of myself, the man I was before I had met Rose. She had changed me then, I was hoping she could do the same again."

"And seeing as then I was human and therefore able to age, I could be there for her the way she truly wanted." Scott shrugged. "Instead of her continuing to try to break through the Void at any opportunity just to get back to his side."

Amy watched Scott for a few moments before turning back to the Doctor. "You gave her up." Amy stated softly.

The Doctor nodded. "I did. In a way at least. The Meta-Crisis was simply another version of myself, so in reality I was giving myself the best gift I ever could."

Scott shot the Doctor a look and the other Time Lord merely stuck out his tongue back.

"So what happened?"

"Somehow she was able to reabsorb the Time Vortex." Scott stated.

"Time Vortex?"

"What the TARDIS travels through to go forwards and backwards through time." The Doctor explained.

"Think of it like a massive tube filled with bright gold energy that once entered can take a vessel up and down Time."

Amy blinked at that, nodding slowly. "Really?"

Scott snorted. "No not really." Amy smacked his shoulder and Scott jerked back with a scowl. "She absorbed that energy, using the knowledge to find a way to break through the Void and travel through it, space, and time to get back to the Doctor she wants." Scott pulled another necklace off – this one with a charm threaded through a simple black cord, Amy couldn't help but notice – gently tapping the surface of a silver pentagon embedded with a beautiful ruby. The pentagon was large enough to fill Scott's palm, the insides of the triangles created by the design filled with black, the lines of silver decorated with a carving of a snake that was actually swallowing its tail.

"Which isn't this one." Amy tilted her head towards the Doctor who sighed.

"Apparently not. Seems to me she's going to travel backwards through time until she finds the version of my previous incarnation she wants."

The ruby popped open, this time revealing a wooden box that almost looked like a jewelry box. Scott put the box back in his lap and closed the ruby, shoving the necklace in his pocket while taking another necklace of his into his hand, this one a single golden key. Baffled, Amy watched him unlock the box with the charm then pop the box open.

The Doctor made a soft sound of shock. "Whoa. That is…really eccentric and simply _genius_."

Scott shot the Doctor a smirk, then turned the box around so they could the inside. "And here's how she did it."

Inside the box were diamonds. Two beautiful, _large_ diamonds; each was easily a cubic inch, one a soft pink, the other a bright yellow.

"These are the Rose Star Diamonds." Scott stated softly, and then lifted his free hand, a single ruby red gen held between the knuckles of two fingers. "Shaped like the jewel cut known as Radiant on Earth during your time; these diamonds are very very unique. Each stone can only be found on a single planet in all of the Universe, and to find a stone _this_ big, without a single imperfection and cut to the proper shape; well it's practically unheard of." He dropped the red diamond in Amy's hand. "The Red Rose, Pink Rose, and Yellow Rose Stars. Put all of these in the proper machine, and you can punch a hole into the Void between worlds without damaging the fabric of Reality."

"Then combine their energy with this-" the Doctor continued, holding up the gem Scott had handed him earlier. "And she had a straight shot right through the Void to me." The Doctor dropped the stone from earlier into Scott's hand, and Amy took a proper look at it.

And screamed.

Scott looked like he was about to laugh for a split second before he sobered up, pressing the massive diamond to his chest.

But it wasn't just a diamond.

Amy felt her knees go weak as she swayed; the Doctor's embrace the only thing keeping her upright.

Easily six cubic inches, the massive pure white diamond was cut exactly like the other Rose Point Stars; but that's where the similarities ended.

Because embedded in the diamond was a heart.

Looking like it was just pulled from some person's chest; the heart was completely intact; the valves obviously cut before the organ was removed.

"That's a heart." She murmured, and then lent closer to get a better look. "That's a _human_ heart. You have a human heart that's _in a diamond."_ Amy swallowed, managing to bury the nauseating hysteria before shaking her head. "Why do you have that?"

"At least she didn't faint." Scott murmured softly, before sighing. "I have it because it's mine."

"It's _yours_ as in it's your _diamond_ ….or it's your _heart_." Amy asked incredulously, and Scott shrugged.

"Both."

"That's your heart." Amy repeated blankly. "As in it was _in your chest."_ Scott nodded. _"Then how the hell are you still alive!"_

"Well I have two hearts." Scott answered.

"Two hearts. You have two hearts, so when one was pulled out what; did you grow another one!?"

"Well." And Scott adopted a faintly embarrassed look. "I needed some help, but yes."

" _Are you even human!?"_

"No." Scott replied baffled. "I said earlier. I'm a Human Time Lord Meta-Crisis. I'm more Time Lord than Human."

" _Time Lord."_ She repeated.

"We have two hearts Pond." The Doctor explained. "When his first was removed, he started the second then I helped through a Regeneration Cycle to restore the first."

Amy pressed her hands to her forehead. "Okay, leaving that topic be since I obviously am Missing Something here. How about this. How did the heart get into a _diamond_ of all things."

"I don't know exactly, but my best guess is that it was placed inside an already growing vein of diamond; then manipulated through some technology to incase the organ and not lose its composition." Scott hummed a bit. "But even then I'm sure this took over a decade too get so big." He popped the jewelry box back open, carefully placing the Red Rose Star back inside.

"But what's done is done; now it's my job to make sure she doesn't completely fuck with the Doctor's timeline." He locked the box then pulled the pentagram necklace out of his pocket, running a finger over the ruby. "I've got a lock on her Vortex Manipulator, so I can travel to moments after she appears wherever she went." The ruby opened and he put the box back between the two halves; Amy watched as the box shrunk while the two halves came back together, Scott putting the necklace back on without any preamble while he tapped the topaz on the heart pendant of the rope necklace. "Hopefully she doesn't try to alter anything too drastic."

"I think you just jinxed yourself." The Doctor told him, obviously amused where he lent against the TARDIS' console, and Scott shot him a look, gently pressing his Heart Rose Diamond between the two halves. Just like the box, the large diamond shrunk while the two halves came back together, and Scott clicked it closed then looped the chain back around his neck, absentmindedly pulling his hair from under the chains.

Scott blinked, and then closed his eyes with a grimace. "I probably did didn't I."

The Doctor merely chuckled, then shook his head. "I can't let you leave just yet."

Scott frowned, shooting the man a look. "And why not?" The Doctor spun the screen around so Amy and Scott could see the writing – a series of circles inside another circle copied several times over the entire screen, each completely different in some way – that obviously made more sense to Scott than Amy when the brunet paled slightly. The draining of blood from his face made him look positively ghastly, and Amy pressed a hand to his forehead, making him flinch back in shock.

"Sorry, sorry." He put a hand over hers glancing over at her before turning back to the circles on the screen. "You just startled me."

"You're _freezing_."

"A Time Lord's body temperature is lower than a human's." The Doctor supplied helpfully and Amy spun about, pressing her hand to his forehead.

"He's colder'n you." She stated, and then crossed her arms. "Honestly, he feels like _ice_."

"And that would be the effect of the Void." The Doctor shot Scott a look. "You are nowhere near recovered yet from that silly teleporter."

"Did you expect me to just sit idly while Rose crossed over to here?" Scott replied scathingly. The Doctor didn't answer, and Scott snorted. "Exactly. Besides, I actually haven't used the stupid thing yet." He lent back in the chair, letting out a bone weary sigh. "Fine fine. I'll stay for a bit then -"

"You make it sound as if you have a choice!" The Doctor interrupted, and Scott shot him a look.

"But just until that stupid thing doesn't say I'm in danger of dying if I teleport."

"You know as well as I that Vortex Manipulators are deadly for _anyone_ who use it." The Doctor stated coldly. "And don't call my screen stupid!"

Scott crossed his arms. "I liked mine better."

"Well of course you would it was yours!"

Amy smacked them both over the head. "Settle down boys!"

They both turned to eye her, Scott with a frown and the Doctor with a pout.

Amy huffed. "Well the both of you fight like a pair of brothers."

"Brothers?" The Doctor shot Scott a searching look; and then tilted his head. "Brother _is_ better than cousin."

Amy swayed a bit. "Would he be considered your son?"

"Well…a Human Time Lord Meta-Crisis had never happened before Scott, so I really don't have anything to base us off of."

"The bond is stronger than a simple cousin though." Scott stated slowly. "Stronger than biological son as well. More like…well, if Gallifreyan bearers ever had _twins…."_

"…Almost." The Doctor pressed a finger to his chin. "But that it works for people who don't know better." Scott snorted.

The Doctor opened his mouth to reply then suddenly paled, eyes going wide as they flashed bright gold. Curling in on himself the Doctor grabbed onto his head, letting out a low hiss.

Scott was on his feet before Amy could wrap her brain around the sight of the Doctor _in pain._

Grabbing onto the Doctor's shoulders, Scott pushed the man into the chair he had vacated; Scott making the Doctor sit back when he tried to curl inwards while Amy grabbed onto his hands. "What's wrong?"

"Timelines - _changing_." The Doctor gasped out, and Scott winced.

Any other creature in all the universe wouldn't have been able to tell if their past had been changed; but the Time Lords, with one heart always recording every day, hour, minute, _second_ of their existence would know the moment the intruder came within their sight.

They remembered every moment of their lives, every life, and the Doctor instinctively knew when his past was tampered with.

Scott had no clue how far back he'd have to go to stop Rose's meddling in time and space, but judging from the Doctor's face, they would be crossing paths several times.

Before Scott and Amy could say a word however, the Doctor jerked out of the chair and lifted a hand to hold them at bay, backing into the railing while curling inward, one hand still clutching his hair while he muttered softly to himself. As they watched, the Doctor's body went lax and he let go of his head, reaching back to grab the rail.

"Well." The Doctor stated suddenly, jerking upright. "I can tell you now; calling us Twins would never work."

Scott stared at him while the Doctor blinked rapidly, glancing about almost as if in a daze with both hands lifted near his head.

"You too never did act like twins." Amy began. "Where did you get that idea?"

The brunet turned towards Amy, narrowing his eyes. Could she not remember what they'd spoken of not even a minute ago? What happened?

"Doctor…?" The man spun around to smile at him with a noncommittal sound. "What did you remember?"

The Doctor's smile widened. "Oh _everything."_ He stated cheerfully, and Scott couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

Time had shifted around him. Scott realized suddenly. The effects of his presence in the Universe had fallen into place. Amy didn't remember the Doctor speaking of twins because for her, he never did. That past had just been erased…and the past as Scott knew and remembered it was gone.

_This is going to be so complicated._ Scott sighed to himself. _Now what I remember obviously isn't valid…_

The Doctor could see the dawning realization on his face, and chuckled softly. "You have a very busy time ahead of you."

Scott let out a frustrated sigh. "Oh that helps so much."

The Doctor clapped his hands, turning back to the TARDIS console. "Doesn't it just?"

A few turned switches the TARDIS groaned, hurtling them through time and space.

"And I guess here is your first journey back home." The Doctor began softly, speaking in Gallifreyan. "You are still far from healthy but I know you'll never stay in the TARDIS. Just remember you are dangerously-"

"Yea yea I know I know." Scott grumbled, waving a hand when the Doctor poked his chest, right over the still laboring heart. He had been dangerously close to cardiac arrest when he'd come through the Void, the attack from Rose didn't help at all, nor did the Doctor's nagging.

Amy smirked, skipping down to the door before turning to smirk up at them. "Well then. Let's see what's out there!"

**Author's Note:**

> From this point on Scott will be traveling through time, very often mixing with the Doctor's own personal past. If it links with an episode, the title will be given.


End file.
